Local Government

We oppose forced local government amalgamations while supporting local councils working together to provide services to their communities.

The Nationals WA have stood firm with regional West Australians in opposing forced local governments amalgamation. We recently expanded our position to include metropolitan local governments after the former Minister for Local Government implied that regional councils would be next.

We will continue to remain opposed to forced amalgamation of local governments and will continue to work with them to ensure that any voluntary reform - such as resource sharing - can be accommodated.

Regional subsidiaries

The enactment of "regional subsidiaries" legislation has been championed for many years by The Nationals. The regional subsidiaries model ensures local governments can achieve economic sustainability while maintaining local identity and providing the services that their residents require.

How it works

Councils can pool their resources and form a subsidiary body to provide a service or activity.

This allows two or more local governments to work together to undertake activities such as waste and environmental management, tourism and marketing opportunities, infrastructure delivery, resource sharing and in seeking grants for regionally significant projects.